Burlington First Night draws on crowd favorites

New Year's Eve bash celebrates 30th year

For the very special 30th anniversary of Burlington's "First Night," organizers of the New Year's Eve bash served up crowd favorites.

Kids and adults alike cheered on performance after performance all day.

The tiny acrobats of Circus Smirkus have been dazzling crowds at the event for almost 10 years now.

"I really like the hula hoop act where it was in the air, that was really cool!" said Annie Edwards-Stoll, with her sister Eva nodding in approval.

Kids like Jasper McSilver got all scary this New Year's Eve with the help of some face paint. The First Night artists are always such a big hit, they get booked almost a year in advance.

In the frigid air outdoors, there was fun and profits to be had.

Taylor Pratt-Houle said the First Night crowds whip up a load of business for street carts, making working -- and working in the cold -- worth it.

"it's booming. Oh definitely," said Pratt Houle, who took the day shift at the gyro stand. "Good street meat on any day is good, but on New Year's, it's even better."

For mom Jennifer Kalbfleisch, the weather made the day even better for her and her sons.

"This is perfect because there's snow so it's festive. It's cold enough to feel like the New Year's without being too warm, but not bitterly cold. I've been out here when it is 17 below and that's not very much fun, so this is about as perfect for a day with the kids," Kalbfleisch told News Channel 5.

As night fell, crowds enjoyed a fireworks display. It was a festive way to finish a fun-filled last day of 2012 .

"I liked it all!" said McSilver.

Organizers said First Night 2012 ticket sales were steady. They'll be taking a little break for a month or two, then start gearing up for First Night 2013 around March.

Monday marks the end of 2012 and the start of the 30th annual First Night celebration. Organizers said the three-decade-long event will be huge as we ring in 2013, but leading up to the festivities, they’re dealing with a big mess.

High pressure will slid southward overnight keeping our skies clear and our temperatures on the chilly side. Expect overnight lows to be in the teens generally but the sheltered valleys across the region will likely reach the single digits.